Commissioning mechanism for creating functional wireless lighting groups

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for creating functional lighting groups is provided. The apparatus includes a commissioning device and a gateway. The commissioning device is configured to identify, locate, and record a plurality of wireless devices during commissioning of the plurality of wireless devices, the plurality of wireless devices having a common circuit and legacy line voltage switch, and is configured to direct the plurality of wireless devices over a wireless network to enter a grouping mode and to send messages indicating that they have been power cycled by the legacy line voltage switch. The gateway is coupled to the wireless network, and is configured to receive the messages and to create a functional lighting group including the plurality of wireless devices.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of the following U.S. NonprovisionalPatent Application, which is herein incorporated by reference.

FILING Ser. No. DATE TITLE Ser. No. 14/876,340 Oct. 6, 2015 APPARATUSAND METHOD (FBQ.1009) FOR CREATING FUNCTIONAL WIRELESS LIGHTING GROUPS

U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/876,340 claims thebenefit of the following U.S. Provisional Application, which is hereinincorporated by reference.

FILING Ser. No. DATE TITLE Ser. No. 62/060,175 Oct. 6, 2014 APPARATUSAND METHOD (FBQ.1009) FOR CREATING FUNCTIONAL WIRELESS LIGHTING GROUPS

This application is related to the following U.S. Nonprovisional PatentApplication, which is herein incorporated by reference.

FILING Ser. No. DATE TITLE — — GROUPING OF WIRELESS DEVICES(FBQ.1009-C2) DURING COMMISSIONING

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to the field building automation, andmore particularly to a commissioning mechanism for identifying,locating, and grouping a plurality of wireless devices whose identities,locations, and functional groupings are unknown.

Description of the Related Art

Present day building lighting systems are generally controlled via wiredinterfaces, and these systems may be either monitored or unmonitored. Asone skilled in the art will appreciate, there is substantial momentum toconvert these wired lighting systems over to more efficient wirelesslighting systems that allow for wireless control and management ofdevices therein. Although inventive concepts presented herein may beapplied to a diverse number of wired/wireless devices and systems, forclarity purposes this disclosure will be presented in terms of anexemplary building comprising a plurality of light fixtures, along withassociated switches, occupancy sensors, daylight harvesters, and otherassociated building automation devices. The building may be undergoingenergy efficiency improvements through the installation of wirelessradios in each of the light fixtures, wireless switches, wirelesssensors, and wireless controls, to allow for more efficient use ofelectrical power.

The present inventors have observed that when a present day wirelessnetwork is created, in order to configure the network of devices forproper operation, determination of the devices' locations and functionalgroupings is mandatory. But present day techniques for identifying,locating, and grouping devices require that unknown devices beidentified and located one device at a time, which is incredibly laborintensive, time consuming, and error prone.

When converting a system of wired devices into a controllable network ofwireless devices, the process described above must be accomplished sothat wireless controls and sensors throughout the building areconfigured to interoperate with each of the functional groups of devicesin substantially the same manner as their wired controls and sensorsthat are being replaced. That is, the wireless network needs to beconfigured so that, say, a wireless on/off switch in a particular officearea only controls the light fixtures therein, and does not controladditional light fixtures down the hall or in other parts of thebuilding.

Furthermore, the labor associated with locating and grouping devicesinto functional groups is also substantial, even with accurate floorplans, the labor required to perform these tasks is steep and expensiveand because of intensive human involvement, the process is prone toerror.

Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus and method for identifying,locating and functionally grouping a plurality of devices in a wirelessnetwork that exhibits a substantial reduction in error over that whichhas heretofore been provided.

What is also needed is a technique for creating functional groups ofdevices in a wireless network.

What is furthermore needed is a mechanism for creating functional groupsof wireless devices that does not require the wireless devices to beidentified and located one at a time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, among other applications, is directed to solvingthe above-noted problems and addresses other problems, disadvantages,and limitations of the prior art by providing a superior technique forcreating functional lighting groups in buildings.

One aspect of the present invention contemplates an apparatus forcreating functional lighting groups. The apparatus includes acommissioning device and a gateway. The commissioning device isconfigured to identify, locate, and record a plurality of wirelessdevices during commissioning of the plurality of wireless devices, theplurality of wireless devices having a common circuit and legacy linevoltage switch, and is configured to direct the plurality of wirelessdevices over a wireless network to enter a grouping mode and to sendmessages indicating that they have been power cycled by the legacy linevoltage switch. The gateway is coupled to the wireless network, and isconfigured to receive the messages and to create a functional lightinggroup including the plurality of wireless devices.

One aspect of the present invention contemplates an apparatus forcreating functional lighting groups. The apparatus has a plurality ofwireless devices, a commissioning device, and a gateway. The pluralityof wireless devices has a common circuit and legacy line voltage switch.The commissioning device is configured to identify, locate, and recordthe plurality of wireless devices during commissioning of the pluralityof wireless devices, and is configured to direct the plurality ofwireless devices over a wireless network to enter a grouping mode and tosend messages indicating that they have been power cycled by the legacyline voltage switch. The gateway is coupled to the wireless network, andis configured to receive the messages and to create a functionallighting group including the plurality of wireless devices.

Another aspect of the present invention envisions a method for creatingfunctional lighting groups. The method includes: via a commissioningdevice to identify, locate, and record a plurality of wireless devicesduring commissioning of the plurality of wireless devices, the pluralityof wireless devices comprising a common circuit and legacy line voltageswitch, and to direct the plurality of wireless devices over a wirelessnetwork to enter a grouping mode and to send messages indicating thatthey have been power cycled by the legacy line voltage switch; and via agateway, receiving the messages, and creating a functional lightinggroup comprising the plurality of wireless devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary building layout ofwired lighting fixtures;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an apparatus according to thepresent invention for creating functional wireless lighting groups; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram featuring a method according to the presentinvention for creating functional wireless lighting groups.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary and illustrative embodiments of the invention are describedbelow. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actualimplementation are described in this specification, for those skilled inthe art will appreciate that in the development of any such actualembodiment, numerous implementation specific decisions are made toachieve specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness related constraints, which vary from one implementation toanother. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure. Various modifications to the preferredembodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generalprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments.Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theparticular embodiments shown and described herein, but is to be accordedthe widest scope consistent with the principles and novel featuresherein disclosed.

The present invention will now be described with reference to theattached figures. Various structures, systems, and devices areschematically depicted in the drawings for purposes of explanation onlyand so as to not obscure the present invention with details that arewell known to those skilled in the art. Nevertheless, the attacheddrawings are included to describe and explain illustrative examples ofthe present invention. The words and phrases used herein should beunderstood and interpreted to have a meaning consistent with theunderstanding of those words and phrases by those skilled in therelevant art. No special definition of a term or phrase (i.e., adefinition that is different from the ordinary and customary meaning asunderstood by those skilled in the art) is intended to be implied byconsistent usage of the term or phrase herein. To the extent that a termor phrase is intended to have a special meaning (i.e., a meaning otherthan that understood by skilled artisans) such a special definition willbe expressly set forth in the specification in a definitional mannerthat directly and unequivocally provides the special definition for theterm or phrase.

In view of the above background discussion on building lightingmanagement and associated techniques employed for identifying andgrouping related devices in a wireless network configuration, adiscussion of the disadvantages and limitations of these techniques willbe presented with reference to FIGS. 1. Following this, a discussion ofthe present invention will be presented with reference to FIGS. 2-3. Thepresent invention overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of presentday techniques by providing an apparatus and method for creatingfunctional lighting groups which minimizes configuration error.

Turning to FIG. 1, a block diagram is presented illustrating anexemplary building layout 100 of wired lighting fixtures 102, 112. Thebuilding layout 100 includes two areas 110, 120 separated by a wall 130having a door 131 disposed therein. Such is exemplary of many presentday buildings. Area A 110 has a plurality of light fixtures 102 poweredby a common circuit 105. Line power 111 is applied to the common circuit105 through a wired switch 103 within Area A 110. Likewise, Area B 120has a plurality of light fixtures 112 powered by a common circuit 115.Line power 111 is applied to Area B's common circuit 115 through a wiredswitch 113 within Area B 120 and wired lighting dynamically controlledby a sensor 114, such as, but not limited to, an occupancy sensor,daylight harvester, etc.

A building or structure, such as is exemplified in the building layout100, may be segregated into physical areas and logical areas (alsoreferred to herein as a “logical group” or “functional group”). Thephysical areas are depicted in FIG. 1 as Area A 110 and Area B 120,which are physically separate, as in indicated by the wall 130. Theareas 110, 120 may consist of individual office spaces having only onelogical area (i.e., an area where light fixtures 102, 112 (also referredto herein as “luminaires”) therein are controlled by correspondingswitches 103, 113 and sensors 114). Alternatively, a given physical area110, 120 may comprise a plurality of logical areas. Furthermore, alogical area may span a plurality of physical areas. A physical area110, 120 may have one or more sensors 114 that are employed to modifythe light output of such groups 102, 112, such as sensor 114 is depictedfor control of the plurality of light fixtures (also referred to hereinas “luminaire group”) 112 in Area B 120. In both areas 110, 120, each ofthe luminaire groups 102, 112 are controlled and powered via commoncircuits (or, “infrastructure”) 105, 115 that supply power and controlto the groups of luminaires 102, 112. Switch 103 controls the luminairegroup 102 in Area A 110, and both switch 113 and the sensor 114 controlthe luminaire group 112 in Area B 120.

As is alluded to above, a building owner/occupier may opt toreplace/upgrade their present wired lighting configuration, such as isshown in the exemplary building layout 100 of FIG. 1, with an energyefficient and controllable configuration, where light fixtures, sensors,and controls are upgraded to include wireless networking capabilities.And the present inventors have observed that when a present day wirelessnetwork is created, identifying information (e.g., network ID, MAC ID,EUI 64, etc.) of corresponding physical devices, their locationsrelative to each other, and how subsets of these physical devices arefunctionally grouped together cannot be easily nor economicallydetermined. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, while absolutelocations (e.g., their GPS coordinates) of these devices may be desired,in order to configure the network of devices for proper operation,determination of the devices' relative locations and functionalgroupings is mandatory.

Present day techniques for identifying, locating, and grouping devicestypically require that unknown devices be identified and locatedserially, namely, one device at a time. In other words, a first deviceis revealed and its identification and location are recorded, typicallyon a floor plan or building notation log (e.g., “fluorescent lampfixture, MAC ID XXX, 2^(nd) floor conference room northern end”). Then,a second device is revealed, identified, located, and recorded. Thisserial process continues, until a last device has been identified,located, and recorded.

Many different techniques are employed to reveal devices in order todetermine their identities and relative locations. Depending upon devicetype within the wireless network, these techniques may include, but arenot limited to, shining lights, scanning bar codes, pushing buttons,power cycling, emitting sounds, etc. Once all of the devices have beenidentified and located, then subsets of the devices are placed intofunctional working groups. In many present day configurations, thisplacement is achieved via some form of computer interface through whichan operator interprets the floor plan or building notation log in orderto create each of the functional working groups. Grouping creates setsof devices that act logically as one subsystem.

For instance, in the case of a retrofitted building full of lightfixtures, a given office area, like Area A 100 or Area B 120 of FIG. 1,may have four wireless-enabled light fixtures, two wireless occupancysensors, and one wireless on/off switch. The switch and sensors operateto exclusively control the light fixtures within the given office area.That is, switches and sensors in other areas of the building do notcontrol the fixtures in the given office area, nor do the sensors andswitch within the given office area operate to control light fixtures inother areas of the building. Thus, the four light fixtures, the switch,and the sensors form a logical (or, “functional”) group within the givenoffice area.

When converting a system of wired devices into a controllable network ofwireless devices, the process described above must be accomplished sothat wireless controls and wireless sensors throughout the building areconfigured to interoperate within their corresponding functional groupsin substantially the same manner as their wired controls and sensorsthat are being replaced. That is, the wireless network needs to beconfigured so that, say, a wireless on/off switch in a particular officearea only controls the light fixtures within its logical group, and doesnot control additional light fixtures down the hall or in other parts ofthe building that belong to other logical groups.

The present inventors have noted that present day techniques foridentifying, locating, and recording devices is disadvantageous at bestsince only one device at a time can be processed. In order to identify,locate, and record a plurality of devices, each device must be processedin a serial manner, that is, one device after another. Consequently,extensive time and labor are required to identify and group a networkthat includes the plurality of devices, which is quite costly from aninstallation perspective. If a particular process requires humanintervention (e.g., to read a label, scan a bar code, shine a light, orpush a button), then the probability of human error is increased alongwith the labor cost to remedy errors that are thereby introduced. Inaddition, the action of reading a label, scanning a bar code, shining alight, or pushing a button may be prohibitively expensive and timeconsuming. Consider the labor associated with accessing ceiling mounteddevices to push a button, or accessing devices that have transducers,electronics, or labels that are internal to the devices. In some cases,the devices may require disassembly in order to reveal the transducers,electronics, or labels. In a building consisting of hundreds of lightfixtures, the costs associated with this process are substantial.

Furthermore, the present inventors have noted that the labor associatedwith locating and grouping devices into functional groups is alsosubstantial, for even with accurate floor plans, the labor required toperform these tasks is steep. Without accurate floor plans, the locationand notation steps are additionally prone to imprecision, for presentday techniques rely predominantly on human interpretation of the userinterface and upon human technicians to derive the proper functionalworking groups.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantages and limitations ofpresent day lighting upgrade technique, and others, by providing anapparatus and method for creating functional wireless lighting groupsthat exhibits a significant reduction in error and labor over that whichhas heretofore been provided. The present invention will now bediscussed with reference to FIGS. 2-3.

Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram is presented depicting an apparatusaccording to the present invention for creating functional wirelesslighting groups. The diagram shows an exemplary upgraded building layout200, very much like the building layout 100 of FIG. 1. The buildinglayout 200 includes two areas 210, 220 separated by a wall 130 having adoor 131 disposed therein. Area A 210 has a plurality of wireless lightfixtures 203-206 which replaces a corresponding plurality of wired lightfixtures (not shown), and which are powered by a common circuit 105,formerly used to power the wired light fixtures. Line power 111 isapplied to the common circuit 105 through a wired switch 103 within AreaA 210. Accordingly, the light fixtures 203-206 are intended to form alogical group 202. Area A 210 also includes a wireless switch 208 and awireless sensor 207, such as, but not limited to, a wireless occupancysensor, a wireless daylight harvester, etc. Likewise, Area B 220 has aplurality of light fixtures 213-216 which replaces a correspondingplurality of wired light fixtures (not shown), and which are powered bya common circuit 115, formerly used to power the wired light fixtures.Line power 111 is applied to Area B's common circuit 115 through a wiredswitch 113 within Area B 220. Accordingly, the light fixtures 213-216are intended to form a logical group 212. Area B 220 also includes awireless switch 218 and a wireless sensor 217, such as, but not limitedto, a wireless occupancy sensor, a wireless daylight harvester, etc. Thewireless switches 208, 218 and wireless sensors 207, 217 are intendedfor control and/or management of the wireless luminaires 203-206,213-216 within their respective logical groups 202, 212.

Like the building layout 100 of FIG. 1, the layout 200 according to thepresent invention may be segregated into physical areas 210, 220 andfunctional groups. The physical areas are depicted in FIG. 2 as Area A210 and Area B 220, which are physically separate, as in indicated bythe wall 130. The physical areas 210, 120 may consist of individualoffice spaces having only one logical area. Alternatively, a givenphysical area 210, 220 may comprise a plurality of logical areas.Furthermore, a logical area may span a plurality of physical areas 210,220. A physical area 210, 220 may have one or more wireless switches208, 218 and wireless sensors 207, 217 that are employed to modify thelight output of wireless luminaire groups 202, 212. In both areas 210,220, each of the wireless luminaire groups 202, 112 are controlled andpowered via existing infrastructure 105, 115 that supplies power andcontrol to the groups of luminaires 202, 212, and that formerly suppliedpower to wired light fixtures replaced in the upgrade. Switch 103controls power to luminaire group 202 in Area A 210, and switch 113controls power to luminaire group 212 in Area B 220. Wireless switch 208and wireless sensor 207 are intended to control lighting in group 202.Wireless switch 218 and wireless sensor 217 are intended to controllighting in group 212. Control of lighting may include, but is notlimited to, on/off, luminous intensity level, color, and special effects(e.g., strobe, flash frequency, etc.). Light sources within the wirelesslighting fixtures 203-206, 213-216 may include, but are not limited to,fluorescent bulbs, light-emitting diodes, and other sources ofcontrollable light in both the visible and infrared spectrums.

The layout 200 also includes a gateway device 240 that is coupled to theinternet 250 (or other wide area network). The gateway device 240 mayprovide for wireless interconnectivity of the wireless lighting fixtures203-206, 213-216, the wireless switches 208, 218, the wireless sensors207, 217, and a wireless commissioning device 242. The gateway 240provides for wireless interoperability between the wireless devices203-208, 213-218, the commissioning device 242, and the gateway 240itself by configuring a wireless network consisting of a plurality ofwireless links 243 over which the devices 203-208, 213-218, thecommissioning device 242, and the gateway 240 communicate. The wirelessnetwork enables communication and control of devices 203-208, 213-218and on an individual and/or group basis, by both the commissioningdevice 242 and the gateway 240.

For purposes of the present application, the term “gateway” 240 will beemployed to mean all the devices and software (e.g., access points,Internet gateways, coordinators, etc.) that are required to provide forcommunication with all of the wireless devices 203-208, 213-218, as wellas communication via the Internet cloud 250 or other form of wide areanetwork, such as is required for communication and cloud basedmanagement and control.

In one embodiment, the wireless commissioning device 242 may comprise atablet computer such as, but not limited to, an IPAD®. In anotherembodiment, the commissioning device 242 may comprise a smartphone suchas, but not limited to, an ANDROID® phone. A further embodimentcontemplates use of a wirelessly enabled laptop computer as thecommissioning device 242.

Advantageously, the present invention employs a coordinated exploitationof the existing infrastructure 105, 115 for a legacy wired system ofdevices (not shown) to enable identification, locating, and recording offunctional groups of corresponding wireless devices 203-208, 213-218 ina manner that is superior to that which has heretofore been provided.The commissioning device 242 communicates with the internet 250 and mayaccess a cloud-based server (not shown) for wireless networkconfiguration support. Alternatively, the commissioning device 242 maycommunicate with the gateway 240 directly. The commissioning device 242may be employed by a technician to control the wireless devices 203-208,213-218 and the gateway 240.

In operation, all of the wireless luminaires 203-206, 213-216 andsensors 207, 217 are physically installed and powered up. The existinginfrastructure 105, 115 (i.e., legacy power lines and line voltageswitches 103, 113) remain installed and functional. That is, theexisting wired switches 103, 113 are left in place and the wirelessswitches 208, 218 are not yet physically installed, but they are howeverpowered on and are communicating over the wireless network over thelinks 243. In this configuration, the wireless switches 208, 218 may bepowered by any of a number of well-known mechanisms including, but notlimited to, batteries, power over Ethernet (POE), or common wall outletadaptors.

Thus, all wireless devices 203-208, 213-218, 240, 242 are communicatingon the wireless network over the links 243, but the locations andgroupings of the luminaires 203-206, 213-216 and sensors 207, 217 areunknown. For clarity sake, only a small number of luminaires 203-206,213-216 and sensors 207, 217 are shown in the layout 200, however, oneskilled in the art will appreciate that a typical building under whichthe present invention may be practiced may comprise hundreds ofluminaires and sensors divided into a functional lighting groupsaccording to building lighting requirements.

A key feature of the present invention is that the switch legs of theexisting infrastructure 105, 115 are employed to reveal both theidentity and functional grouping of the luminaires 203-206, 213-216 andsensors 207, 217. This is because the existing legacy line voltageswitches 103, 113 are already wired to, and grouped with, theircorresponding luminaires 203-206, 213-216. And the presented inventorshave observed that present day upgrade techniques deprecate the linevoltage switches 103, 113 during installation of the new luminaires203-206, 213-216 and sensors 207, 217, thereby losing access to thegrouping information. The legacy line voltage switches are deprecated inorder to prevent the new wireless enabled luminaires from losing powerand, thereby, losing their ability to communicate and respond to controlmessages from associated switches, sensors, gateways, etc. Though theline voltage switches 103, 113 must ultimately be deprecated andreplaced by wireless switches 208, 218, the present inventioncontemplates preservation of line voltage switches 103, 113 to support anovel grouping mode whereby the luminaires 203-206, 213-216, sensors207, 217, and the wireless switches 208, 218 may by assigned tofunctional groups. After functional grouping is complete, the linevoltage switches 103, 113 are replaced by the wireless switches 208,218.

The commissioning device 242 may comprise one or more applicationprograms executing thereon, dedicated circuitry, or a combination ofapplication programs and dedicated circuitry to communicate with thegateway 240 and to command the wireless devices 203-208, 213-218 toenter a functional grouping mode. The wireless devices 203-208, 213-218and the gateway 240 may comprise one or more application programsexecuting thereon, dedicated circuitry, or a combination of applicationprograms and dedicated circuitry to communicate with the gateway 240 andto perform functional grouping mode functions as will be describedbelow.

In one embodiment, a technician may execute a function on the handhelddevice 242 to inform the gateway 240 to enter the grouping mode. Inresponse, the gateway 240 will command the wireless devices 203-208,213-218 to enter into the grouping mode. When in the grouping mode, thetechnician may enter one of the areas 210, 220 and may instruct thegateway 240 via the handheld device 242 that a new functional group isto be formed. Consider that the technician entered Area A 210. Thetechnician will then cycle the line voltage power 111 using thecorresponding legacy line voltage switch 103. All wireless luminaires203-206 that are wired to the legacy switch leg will have their powerturned off and then back on. On power up, the wireless luminaires203-206 will function normally. Additionally, since the luminaires203-206 are in grouping mode, they will notify the gateway 240 that theyhave been powered cycled while in grouping mode via respective messagestransmitted over the links 243. The gateway 240 will thus record theseluminaires 203-206 as a newly formed group 202, including theircorresponding identifying information (e.g., MAC address, manufacturer,device type, version, etc.). Following formation of the new group 202,the technician then toggles their corresponding wireless switch 208 oractivates a commissioning control (e.g., push button, toggle switch,etc.) on the wireless switch, which will inform the gateway 240 that awireless switch has been toggled or had a commissioning controlactivated while in grouping mode, and the gateway 240 will associatethis new wireless switch 208 with the newly created functional group 202to allow for control of the luminaires 203-206.

Continuing formation of the functional group, the technician thenactivates a commissioning control (e.g., push button, toggle switch,etc.) on any newly added sensors 207 that are to be employed foradditional control of luminaires 203-206 within the group 202, whichwill inform the gateway 240 that a wireless sensor 207 has had acommissioning control activated while in grouping mode, and the gateway240 will thus associate this new wireless sensor 207 with the newlycreated group 202 to allow for additional control of the luminaires203-206. Once all of the devices 203-208 are grouped, the technicianthen instructs the gateway 240 that association of devices 203-208within the group 202 is complete. The technician may also enterinformative notations regarding the nature and location of the group 202during formation and commissioning of the wireless devices 203-208 intothe new functional group 202.

The technician may then move on to the next area 220 and will follow thesame procedure described above to form a next functional group 212comprising grouped luminaires 213-216, and associated sensors 217 andwireless switch 218.

The present inventors note that instead of toggling the wirelessswitches 208, 218 to indicate their relative location, commissioningcontrols (e.g., push button, toggle switch, etc.) on the wirelessswitches 208, 218 may be utilized to perform the same function.

When all groupings are complete, the technician then replaces the legacyline voltage switches 103, 113 with the new wireless switches 208, 218.

One advantage of the present invention is that the gateway 240 allowsthe technician to group the wireless devices 203-208, 213-218 in anyorder. That is, devices 203-208 may be commissioned before or aftercommissioning devices 213-218.

The present invention also contemplates the use of multiplecommissioning devices 242 by multiple technicians working in the samebuilding at the same time to create functional groups simultaneously. Toenable this feature, the gateway 240 will employ time stamp, timeseries, and/or time delta analyses on messages received in order toproperly bin detected events and groups. In addition, or alternatively,the commissioning devices 242 can communicate and coordinate with eachother in order to facilitate orderly grouping of events.

Having determined the devices' relative locations and functionalgroupings, and thereby configuring the network of devices for properoperation, the present invention additionally enables more fine-grainedidentification and location of individual devices 203-208, 213-218, ifdesired. Because groups of devices 203-208, 213-218 within a buildingare inherently smaller in number and more manageable than the set of alldevices in the building, coordinated operations such as flashing aluminaire within a specific group and noting its relative physicallocation within the group on a user interface are enabled. This notationmay include the use of captured images of a ceiling grid along withluminaires 203-206, 213-216 and sensors 207, 217 disposed therein inorder to enhance the relative and absolute location device metadata. Inone embodiment, the functions for such fine-grained identification andlocation may be disposed within applications programs within thecommissioning device 242.

Although the devices 203-208, 213-218 according to the present inventionare described above as having dedicated hardware/software disposedtherein to enable them to enter and perform functions associated withthe functional grouping mode, other embodiments are contemplated aswell. For example, certain wireless networks configurations may beconfigured to send information back to the gateway 240 when stimulated(e.g., a button has been pushed, a device is powering up, toggled,etc.). Accordingly, the gateway 240 for such embodiments may beconfigured to uniquely interpret these communications in order toidentify and group the devices 203-208, 213-218.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flow diagram 300 is presented of a method forcreating functional lighting groups according to the present invention.

Flow begins at block 302 where a building that had been retrofitted withwireless luminaires, switches, and sensors and legacy line voltageswitches are retained. Flow then proceeds to block 304.

At block 304, all the wireless devices are placed into a functionalgrouping mode via gateway and commissioning device messages over awireless network. Flow then proceeds to block 306.

At block 306, formation of a new functional group is initiated viacommands implemented over a commissioning device. Flow then proceeds toblock 308.

At block 308, a technician corresponding to the commissioning devicecycles line voltage via one of the legacy line voltage switches. Flowthen proceeds to block 310.

At block 310, wireless devices that have been power cycled via thetechnician's action in block 308 inform the gateway of their identifyinginformation and that they have been power cycled while in grouping mode.The gateway then groups the power cycled wireless devices into the newfunctional group. Flow then proceeds to block 312.

At block 312, the technician toggles or activates a commissioningcontrol (e.g., push button, toggle switch, etc.) on one or more wirelessswitches to be associated with the new functional group. The wirelessswitches inform the gateway of their identifying information and thatthey have been toggled or had a commissioning control activated while ingrouping mode. The gateway then adds the affected wireless switches tothe new functional group. Flow then proceeds to block 314.

At block 314, the technician activates a commissioning control (e.g.,push button, toggle switch, etc.) on one or more wireless switches to beassociated with the new functional group. The wireless switches informthe gateway of their identifying information and that they have had acommissioning control activated while in grouping mode. The gateway thenadds the affected wireless switches to the new functional group. Flowthen proceeds to decision block 316.

At decision block 316, an evaluation is made to determine if allfunctional groups within the building have been created. If not, thenflow proceeds to block 308. If so, then flow proceeds to block 318.

At block 318, the method completes, allowing deprecation and removal ofthe legacy line voltage switches, and installation of the grouped andcommissioned wireless switches.

One advantage of present invention is that it may be employed toefficiently derive functional lighting groups from existinginfrastructure, thus eliminating the need to rely upon serial processesand human interpretation, thereby minimizing mistakes and saving timeand labor. Devices can be identified and a functional wireless networkof the devices can be created with labor that has minimal training andknowledge of networks.

Another advantage of the present invention is that multiple devices canbe identified and grouped simultaneously in a robust and reliablemanner.

The gateway according to the present invention logically groups specificphysical wireless devices together to function as one or more functionallighting groups. Via one or more commissioning devices, technicians mayrecord the relative location of the functional lighting group (andthereby of the individual devices)—with or without the aid of anexisting floor plan. For example, functional lighting groups aretypically associated with well-known landmarks such as “CEO Office” or^(“)2^(nd) Floor Conference Room North.” Accordingly, it is noted thatthe present invention creates highly accurate functional lighting groupsby deriving those groups from existing infrastructure. Thus, the processof functional grouping does not rely nor depend on the absolute accuracyof geo-location for each of the devices in the network. This is a markedimprovement over present day identification, location, and recordingmechanisms, which are particularly frail because they are highlydependent upon device location information in order to create afunctional group.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, andthose skilled in the art will appreciate that they can readily use thedisclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designingor modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of thepresent invention, and that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for creating functional lightinggroups, the apparatus comprising: a commissioning device, configured toidentify, locate, and record a plurality of wireless devices duringcommissioning of said plurality of wireless devices, said plurality ofwireless devices comprising a common circuit and legacy line voltageswitch, and configured to direct said plurality of wireless devices overa wireless network to enter a grouping mode and to send messagesindicating that they have been power cycled by said legacy line voltageswitch; and a gateway, coupled to said wireless network, configured toreceive said messages, and configured to create a functional lightinggroup comprising said plurality of wireless devices.
 2. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1, wherein said commissioning device comprises a laptopcomputer.
 3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein saidcommissioning device comprises a tablet computer.
 4. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1, wherein said plurality of wireless devices compriseswireless lighting fixtures, and wherein said wireless lighting fixturesare power cycled via activation of said legacy line voltage switch. 5.The apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein said plurality of wirelessdevices further comprises one or more wireless switches, and wherein,after formation of said functional lighting group, an operator togglessaid one or more wireless switches, and said gateway receives saidmessages and adds said one or more wireless switches to said functionallighting group.
 6. The apparatus as recited in claim 5, wherein, uponactivation of commissioning controls by said operator, said gateway isconfigured to receive commissioning messages from one or morecorresponding wireless sensors, and is configured to add saidcorresponding one or more wireless sensors to said functional lightinggroup.
 7. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said gateway iscoupled via the internet to a cloud-based server, and wherein saidcloud-based server communicates with said gateway and said commissioningdevice to enable formation of said functional lighting group.
 8. Anapparatus for creating functional lighting groups, the apparatuscomprising: a plurality of wireless devices, comprising a common circuitand legacy line voltage switch; a commissioning device, configured toidentify, locate, and record said plurality of wireless devices duringcommissioning of said plurality of wireless devices, and configured todirect said plurality of wireless devices over a wireless network toenter a grouping mode and to send messages indicating that they havebeen power cycled by said legacy line voltage switch; and a gateway,coupled to said wireless network, configured to receive said messages,and configured to create a functional lighting group comprising saidplurality of wireless devices.
 9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8,wherein said commissioning device comprises a tablet computer.
 10. Theapparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein said plurality of wirelessdevices comprise wireless lighting fixtures, and wherein said wirelesslighting fixtures are power cycled via activation of said legacy linevoltage switch.
 12. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein saidone or more second wireless devices comprise one or more wirelessswitches, and wherein, after formation of said functional lightinggroup, an operator toggles said one or more wireless switches, and saidgateway receives said messages and adds said one or more wirelessswitches to said functional lighting group.
 13. The apparatus as recitedin claim 12, wherein, upon activation of commissioning controls by saidoperator, said gateway is configured to receive commissioning messagesfrom one or more corresponding wireless sensors, and is configured toadd said corresponding one or more wireless sensors to said functionallighting group.
 14. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein saidgateway is coupled via the internet to a cloud-based server, and whereinsaid cloud-based server communicates with said gateway and saidcommissioning device to enable formation of said functional lightinggroup.
 15. A method for creating functional lighting groups, the methodcomprising: via a commissioning device to identify, locate, and record aplurality of wireless devices during commissioning of the plurality ofwireless devices, the plurality of wireless devices comprising a commoncircuit and legacy line voltage switch, and to direct the plurality ofwireless devices over a wireless network to enter a grouping mode and tosend messages indicating that they have been power cycled by the legacyline voltage switch; and via a gateway, receiving the messages, andcreating a functional lighting group comprising the plurality ofwireless devices.
 16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein thecommissioning device comprises a laptop computer.
 17. The method asrecited in claim 15, wherein the commissioning device comprises a tabletcomputer.
 18. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the pluralityof wireless devices comprises one or more wireless lighting fixtures,and wherein the one or more wireless lighting fixtures are power cycledvia activation of the legacy line voltage switch.
 19. The method asrecited in claim 16, wherein the plurality of wireless devices furthercomprises one or more wireless switches, and wherein, after formation ofthe functional lighting group, an operator toggles the one or morewireless switches, and the gateway receives the messages and adds theone or more wireless switches to the functional lighting group.
 20. Themethod as recited in claim 19, further comprising: coupling the gatewayto a cloud-based server that communicates with the gateway and thecommissioning device to enable formation of the functional lightinggroup